


the second visitor

by ghostscribe



Series: 9,000 meters above sea level [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Angst, Suicidal Thoughts, Teen Angst, lowkey but fair warning on that one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 01:43:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17416589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostscribe/pseuds/ghostscribe
Summary: Red hates it down there, he hates it up here, and he hates most people most of all. A challenger comes, though, and he takes a chance.





	the second visitor

The wind isn't cold enough.

Red is on the summit of Mount Silver, just... sitting, waiting for the wind to take him away. He hates this. He hates being the _World Champion,_ he hates that the world threw this title at him without so much as a drop of empathy, without considering how the pressure and attention and stress would affect a kid with crippling anxiety. He hates it, he hates them, he hates that they pushed him to living up here, but most of all, he hates himself for coming here. He hates himself for running away.

The sunset is silent, and so is he.

Maybe he could try to call Green. He doesn't know if he has the same phone number as he did when he was down there. Professor Oak's lab would have the same number - ugh, but he can't even get any reception up here. Calling is pointless. Reaching out is pointless. The only person he's been able to calmly spend any time with has been Kris, but even her presence makes him uneasy. It's not her, no, it's just that he doesn't want to be around _anyone._ Green has been the only exception, but considering their last "conversation" was basically a screaming match, he doubts Green would want to talk to him again. He ran off without so much as an apology. That wasn't right. This isn't right.

Nothing feels right up here.

Maybe he could go back - no, no way, that's not an option. He doesn't want anyone to find him, doesn't want anyone to so much as think about him. He hates this so, so, so much though. He wants to be with his mom again, he wants to play with Green, he wants to just go back to how things used to be. He wants to throw a match, to just _lose_ to someone, anyone, but if he loses, that'll only cause more of a scene. The only safety is in this paralysis, frozen in time until his legacy burns up and -

He hears snow crunching behind him, and after a moment of silence, someone calls out.

"H-Hey," said so softly that Red can barely hear the young voice. "Hey, Red!"

_No no no no no -_

For a moment, he's stunned, he feels like the world is about to swamp him with questions and cameras and microphones, he shifts just a little to his left in hopes that he'll feel an arm on his shoulder and hear a familiar voice bragging about how _that's right, this is_ my _rival,_ but Green isn't here, and neither is anyone else. All that's here is snow.

Snow, and this voice. Red finally turns to face him.

He looks young, too young to be up here - but hey, Red isn't one to talk. His eyes are brimming with anticipation, apprehension and excitement in tandem. A Typhlosion stands behind him with a burning expression, ready to battle, flames flicking off his back as the wind starts to pick up.

"Do you wanna battle?" the boy asks meekly.

Red doesn't move at first; he's too struck by the fact that this is his first real challenger on Mount Silver.

He takes a few steps down the very peak of the mountain, breaking through the layer of ice accumulating on the snow. If the ground is going to ice over, he's going to have to make this quick so the kid can get home safely. He could throw this match. This is his chance to throw the match and let this _World Champion_ curse die, but -

"Red?"

\- but Green would hate him for giving up so easily, and so the curse lives on, and the battle begins.

From meeting Kris, Red recalls that Typhlosion is a fire type, so Blastoise it is. He sends him out and whistles for Surf, a long, dropping note that Blastoise can hear even over the howling winds starting to surround them.

"Ty, get ready to dodge!" the challenger calls as Blastoise summons the wave of water. "Will-o-Wisp!"

The fire eventually hits Blastoise, but the tsunami hits Typhlosion before that, knocking him down into the snow and freezing into little crystals on his fur. It's a hazard unique to Mount Silver, and a hazard that's going to give this kid a rough time.

 _"Siooooon!"_ the weasel cries, shaking the ice off his fur. Blastoise is burnt, but he's not too bothered by the ache. Hell, maybe it feels good in this weather.

"Quick, get back! Ampharos, come on!"

Red gives Blastoise a long, haunting whistle, _Blizzard_ in a world where the blizzard never ends. Ampharos isn't a great match for Blastoise, but the field hazard is worth a hit.

"Use Thunder Punch!" The Ampharos weathers the hail berating him and hits Blastoise witha burst of electricity. With that, he recalls Blastoise from the storm. He doesn't have any Pokémon with ground moves, save for Espeon, but she's been training nonstop this week. Venusaur should fare just as well, though.

 _Toxic._ This feels so automatic.

"Uh," the challenger hesitates, "Iron Tail!"

Venusaur easily weathers the hit, and launches the blob of purple sludge at Ampharos. He's been poisoned now, just another hazard to deal with unless this kid has any antidotes. Using any restoring items during a battle with Red, though, that's asking for failure. That's what all the magazines say, anyway. They think they know him that well.

"Thunder Punch, again!"

Red whistles once, a sharp, loud sound. Venusaur takes the hit and charges up for Solar Beam.

"Again!"

Her Solar Beam knocks Ampharos out in one hit.

"Typhlosion, come back out!" he calls, and Red swaps out for Snorlax. He could have Blastoise use Surf again, but he'd rather not let him get too beat up if they can avoid it. "Flamethrower!"

Classic. Snorlax takes the heat without any issue, though. Red whistles for Giga Impact, and the weasel is almost down for the count.

"Will-o-Wisp!" Just another trick to deal with, another burn heal to use after the battle ends.

Fuck it, he's just using Blastoise again. Red sends him back into the field, and another swiftly timed Surf knocks Typhlosion out unceremoniously. It happens so fast that the challenger's gaze darts around, trying to gather what just happened. A Pokémon battle is what just fucking happened, that's all. Pokémon battle, they faint, someone wins, and that's that. It's not even that fun.

It's not fun anymore.

Red remembers how a stab hit his heart the first time he realized that battles have completely lost their luster. That... That excitement was the whole reason he wanted to be a trainer in the first place. He thought it would be fun, he thought he could make friends with all sorts of cool Pokémon and have a good time with it -

"Steelix, Gyro Ball!"

\- and he _was_ having fun when it was just him and Green against the world -

_Charizard, Flamethrower._

\- but now it's just him whistling on top of the world, and it isn't any fun anymore. It isn't _anything_ anymore.

Steelix is out in one hit, one meaningless strike. Red feels cold, and it's not the wind that bothers him.

"Xatu, use Fly!"

Red whistles for Charizard to mimic the bird, and his next move will be sending Pikachu out. He'll use Thunder, and the Xatu will be down for the count. What's the score? Does it matter? Red is winning and he doesn't feel anything. All he feels is a wave of concern for Charizard when the two Pokémon slam into the snow, whiting out the scene for a tantalizing moment, but the snow clears and nothing is remarkable. They're just hurt and eager to take the victory.

"Psychic!"

Red switches for Pikachu after Charizard takes the hit, and Pikachu is ready to battle. This is his trusty partner that everyone assumes was his starter. Why the hell would he start with a Pikachu if Green has a Charizard? It should be obvious that Venusaur is his starter. They're all so stupid, jumping to conclusions to get more attention and spread more rumors about _a literal child -_

Red hears his whistle for Thunder, hears how much sharper and louder it is than usual. He's seething at the world below him, and yet he's too terrified to face them and give them what for. That's perhaps the most infuriating thing; he's a fucking coward and he doesn't want to battle anymore.

"Roost!" but that doesn't save the bird, and a single bolt of lightning lays waste to Xatu.

The score is now 6-2, in Red's favor.

But he doesn't feel _anything_.

"Quagsire, Earthquake!" Red makes a hollow sounding whistle, _dodge,_ and Pikachu does, trotting at light speed along the edge of the mountain that's too sturdy for Quagsire to shake. A clipped call for _Quick Attack_ almost gets swallowed by the wind, but Pikachu follows through and returns on his cue. Quick Attack usually means that's the last hit for Pikachu for that turn, and they both know that.

Battles are just muscle memory anymore, nothing more, nothing less.

Venusaur is sent back out, and the challenger just shouts a desperate _dodge!_ to his Pokémon. Giga Drain knocks it down immediately. Red swaps for Charizard again; he hasn't seen this kid use a grass type, so his guess is a grass Pokémon is next. It's all autopilot anymore. 

"Heracross, Arial Ace!"

Okay, he's not sure _what_ that is, but it looks like a bug. Whatever a Heracross is, Flamethrower knocks him out in one hit.

Red wins, 6-0.

He's not happy.

He's not sad, no, but he's not happy. He's not excited about winning; _too easy,_ Green would say. Green always said that an easy battle is boring and not even worth the effort. Red isn't even bored, though, he isn't disinterested, he isn't even disappointed with how easy that was. He doesn't feel bored with battles. He just feels empty, and that's even worse.

"Um... good job."

Red nods softly at him and tries to sign _you too,_ though his sign language is still sloppy, and his desire to interact beyond battles is at an all-time low. He just wants to fall asleep in the snow for awhile.

For a moment, the challenger just stands there, watching him, and Red stares back with a slowly building anxiety. Why is he...? Somehow, he can't even muster up the energy to be scared. His instincts are firing off in the back of his head, swearing up and down that it isn't safe, _he_ isn't safe, and yet Red isn't moving, isn't running. It's this complete apathy he's fallen to, it seems. He can't place exactly what the feeling is, though. He's heard Espeon throw around the word _depression_ a few times, but he's not sad. He's just blank, empty.

He comes back to reality like a rubber band snapping into place when he hears a muffled sob from the kid. He can't find his voice to try and speak, though.

"You - You did really well, though," the challenger says weakly, seemingly finishing a train of thought Red missed. "Th-That was really fun. Thank you."

Red nods softly. That sounds insincere, but he does't blame the kid. Still, he's never had someone get _upset_ when they lose to him. Frustrated, disappointed, even embarrassed, yeah, but no one's ever cried over a lost battle with him - not that he's seen, anyway.

"I-I... I'm gonna go. Sorry for keeping you so long."

The storm is way too bad to get back down the mountain, though, but the challenger runs off nonetheless. Red keeps an ear out, waits until his footfalls are completely gone, then - then gives chase.

Wait, what?

What is he even doing? The kid is gonna be fine - well, no - but yeah - but - ugh, whatever. He's not gonna question his impulses. Red has never been led astray by his instincts, that much is certain. There's a fine line between his anxiety and these instincts, but when he can tell what's what, he knows that everything will turn out alright.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid..." Red hears the boy mumbling to himself as he catches up, his voice carrying through the mountain, echoing off every stone. "I should've known that was gonna be a flop. I should've known I was gonna mess it up. I should've trained more. I..."

Well, yeah, of course it was a flop. No one has ever beat Red since he became the World Champion, this stupid fucking title they just threw at him. Really? _World_ Champion? Is he really the best in the world, or just someone who did well in Kanto? Is he a champion or a fourteen year old? Is he a hero or a kid with some Pokémon and a weird mass of pixels to his name? Is he a prodigy or a child who can't use his voice like a normal fucking -

"Ah - !"

The boy's shout cuts off suddenly as he begins to slide over the edge of the mountain, rocks tumbling out from under him, and Red feels his body move on these instincts he trusts so much. He grabs the back of the kid's jacket, then his arm, and yanks him away from the precipice that almost did him in. Red doesn't understand why it's always right around here that the rocks are so unsteady. This is where he twisted his leg in the first month of being up here, in fact.

"Ngh..." he groans, probably aching and a little startled from a near-death experience; and no, Red isn't exaggerating when he calls it that. It's easy to die up here when you don't watch your step, and a ten or eleven year old doesn't know how to navigate this place. Neither did a twelve year old Red, though.

Sometimes he has a passing thought that he should've let himself fall a little further and a little harder.

"O-Oh, um," the boy sits up in the snow, the ice that's threatening to swallow them both already. "I-I didn't see you there." Pause. "Did you just save me?"

Red nods a little, and the kid smiles with a light that could melt the snow around them. He wishes he could be so happy again.

"Thank you! I dunno what would've happened if you weren't here!"

 _You would've died,_ but he doesn't say that. Now he's just worried that the kid isn't gonna get back down safely.

"I, um," he eyes the cliff, then Red, "I guess I should keep going. I'll be more careful, though. Kris would be so upset if she found out I got hurt."

Kris? Like, _that_ Kris?

"'cause she comes up here to study Pokémon sometimes, but she's always super careful, and she told me to be careful too! She said she even had to help someone who passed out one time. I wanna be helpful like her one day - but that kinda means I gotta take care of myself, first."

The only person who would've passed out in the snow up here over the past two years without being found by a rescue team would be the so-called World Champion. So the kid _is_ talking about the Kris Red knows.

"Alright, thank you again! I'll - " A gust of wind actually knocks him back down to the ground, shoving him over easily. Those shoes aren't made for the snow. " - gah!"

If this kid knows Kris - well, no, it's not a reasonable assumption to make that anyone who knows her is a good person. Still, he seems harmless enough, and he's gonna have a worse time traveling if the storm is getting worse. Then again, as long as he can get back into the cave system, he can get down safely enough, unless he gets lost in the whiteouts from unrelenting winds, unless he passes out in the snow, unless...

_He's like, ten. What am I so scared of?_

In the same heartbeat, some part of Red answers him; _He'll tell them where you are._

 _Them,_ a general _they_ referring to everything and everyone that could - that would - want to hurt him. Yes, this kid could blow his cover, and everything will come undone. Then they'll find him, and he'll drown in them, he'll bury himself in the snow, and he'll be dead in ten minutes or less. Then he'll be safe, and they won't be able to touch him ever again, they'll never look at him again, he'll never feel mechanical eyes on him and foam ears eavesdropping, he'll never feel gloved hands reaching for his pokéballs or his throat, he'll never feel an indescribable burning on his hands and salt water stuck to his cheeks, he'll never feel the heat of his mother's embrace or the pressure of his best friend's hug or any semblance of love or warmth or _what happens at a funeral anyway -_

"Red?"

He looks up, and he sees a ten year old who tried to battle him. That's all; not a broadcasting crew, not a crime ring, not a pixellated nightmare. Just a kid.

Actually, he sees a little shred of a ten year old Red in there. 

"Can Pokémon fly down the mountain when it's this windy?"

Red shakes his head. Of course they can't, not unless they have some kind of electric motor in them or something.

"Oh. Um..." He trails off. "I'll just be careful, then. I can - "

Red reaches out and takes his hand, and when the boy doesn't protest, he leads him away into the mountain. No words are said until they're deep inside the mountain.

"Where are we going?" he finally asks.

"In."

He hears a little gasp, because people don't understand the _selective_ part of _selective mutism._ Both his mom and Green have tried to explain it to the public countless times, but no one seems to care enough to listen. Maybe the _mute_ part is _cool_ enough on its own, and all they care about is having someone to fantasize about. He wishes he never asked Kris about what people think of him, honestly. It only ever eats at him and pisses him off. Maybe the anger is justified, or maybe it's just teenage angst. Maybe both.

"I gotta go home, though."

"Storm will pass..." _The storm will pass in a few hours at most,_ but his voice is so hoarse from sitting in the wind that most of it doesn't come out. "In a few hours. Wait. It'll be safer."

"Oh." They quietly ascend another layer of rocks before the boy speaks again. "So... do I just wait and climb back down later?"

"Storm will stop. Then you can fly."

"Okay." Pause. "Uh, since I'm gonna be here anyway, I guess I should introduce myself, right? My name is Ethan. I'm from New Bark Town."

Red nods, resisting the urge to introduce himself. He obviously already knows him.

"...so, you're from Pallet Town, right? Is it nice there?"

"It was."

"Cool! I haven't been there yet, but Kris visits there sometimes. She likes researching Pokémon when she isn't battling, so she works with Green on things like that. I don't understand a lot of it, but maybe one day I can do research too."

 _Maybe one day,_ as if it isn't a huge commitment, as if Green isn't sinking his life into that and battles. Red hasn't seen Green's research (he only knows his rival is doing research from what Kris has said), but he knows his rival has to be throwing himself into it wholeheartedly. Green has always been that way, so determined, so devoted, so amazing and wonderful and _I miss you so much -_

"You two are friends, right?"

_Ow ow ow fuck I miss you so much -_

"Do you still talk?"

_Fuck you -_

"No." That's all Red can say.

"Oh."

"...Ethan?"

"Yeah?"

He's risking it all. He's risking his hiding place, his sanctuary, his safety, he's risking the chance of _them_ finding him, but he'd risk anything for Green. "Tell him I'm here."

"Okay," is all he says. Red can hear their footfalls hitting faster, harder. He doesn't know if he's running or if he's just imagining it. "He's gonna be happy to hear that. He wanted to find you."

 _Don't make me fucking cry you stupid -_ no, no, Ethan isn't stupid, Red is the idiot for doing this to himself. He's an idiot for climbing to the top of the world, for perching himself up so high that the only thing that makes him feel anything anymore is someone nine thousand meters below him.

"Don't tell him I spoke."

"What? Why not?"

"Just don't."

"...okay." It's a dumb request, but Red wants to keep up the façade that he's been a ghost. He doesn't want to risk anyone overhearing Ethan's message and getting any more fuel to add to the fires of gossip magazines and internet speculation.

"Just say you battled me and left."

"Alright," he almost shouts, and it's now that Red realizes he's stumbling. He finally stops running, slowing to a trot just outside the cave he's come to call home. "Why, though?"

Red doesn't want to get into the details of it, honestly. "He'll understand."

"Mhm."

Silence. Red feels empty again, but looking at Ethan makes him feel _something,_ as if he can feel the kid's own innocence as if it were his own. It's like watching an old VHS of himself, running his hand over the CRT and letting the static dance on his fingers.

"Are you okay?" Ethan asks, and no, no, Red is not okay.

"Yeah." Like hell Red is going to dump that on him, though. He deserves a few more years of blissful ignorance. He doesn't need to see the complexities of anxiety and remorse and teen angst yet. "Are you hurt?"

"A little," he admits. "I got scraped on the rocks before you caught me, but I'm mostly fine! I'm always kinda clumsy, so it wouldn't - uh, wait - "

Red tugs him into the cave. "Bandages."

"Oh. Thank you."

Focus. Focus on anything other than these feelings. "Tea?"

"Oh, yes please! Kris always says it's good for your throat when it's this cold out."

Focus on anything else. "Will do."

Red cannot, though, focus on anything but his feelings, and it's killing him inside and out.

"Maybe you can meet her one day," Ethan suggests, not realizing that Red already _has_ met her. "Oh! She and Green and I could all come up, and maybe we could have a sleepover! Wouldn't that be fun?"

He swallows down a sob. "Yeah."

Red's heart is spilled empty but so, so full, and he's sure he'll drown in his misery sooner rather than later.

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to _Red is an angsty 14 yr old because no one was Not angsty at the age of 14,_ the movie  
> i'm like. in a really weird headspace right now and am lowkey posting this as a vent piece, but also as a long overdue Red/Ethan meeting. i like to imagine that, like myself, Ethan figured _oh boy I can finally battle Red now!!!_ but had no idea what he was getting himself into with pokémon upwards of level 80 and he's just D: now. Red is also D: but with 40% more depression  
> i feel like Red had to get disillusioned with battling at some point, and it was probably rougher to deal with when he was an angsty teen because _wow this is all i do and i feel nothing about it anymore._ is it depression? burn out? both and then some? who knows! i certainly dont and neither does my sad son  
> um. anyway i'm gonna go reread some nameless fluff from ReuNite now but uh. yep here's some angst time! (also i'm editing the next _Something, Everything About You_ and there _is_ some fluff in there so no worries)  
> (sidenote; Crystal is referred to as Kris here bc i have a thing for her in the works ovo)


End file.
